Shingle



Sept. 18, 1934. ROBINSON 1,973,931

SHINGLE Filed Sept. 3. 1931 INVENTOR I THOMAS ROBINSON ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 18, 1934 a UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SHINGLE Thomas Robinson, New York, N.

Lancaster FAsphalt,

Y., assignor to Incorporated, New York,

3 Claims.

This invention relates to the production of building products, and more especially it relates to a novel building product containing a hardened plastic material interposed between fibrous facing 5 sheets, and a method and apparatus by which such product, uniformly free from substantial defects, can be rapidly made. Although the building product of the invention is particularly adapted for roofing purposes-and a form of the product which is adapted for such purposes will subsequently be described in detaiL-the product obviously may be produced in forms and sizes suitable for other purposes as well.

Many attempts have been made to construct is a shingle of asphalt composition, which when coated with a. granular stone material to provide a color therefor, would hold its shape under all of the varying temperature and atmospheric conditions to which a shingle is submitted on the roof. 2 Such shingles have not proved to be satisfactory in service because any asphalt composition which is sumciently elastic to not be brittle and easily destroyed will soften and become deformed under continued heating of the sun.

Other shingles have been made by entirely enclosing asphaltic mastic body in fibrous sheet casings but the handling and the expansion and contraction of the shingle under changing atmospheric temperature conditions has acted to break n the casing, particularly in the vicinity oi the thick butt edge of the shingle.

The new building product or roofing element consists of a body made of a hardened mastic aggregate-preferably consisting, of a mixture of asphalt-or other high melting bituminous com pound and mineral materials such as crushed slate, cinders, and the like adapted to impart stifiness and body to theresultant aggregate.

For the purpose of adding toughness and strength to the mastic aggregate, fibrous materials such as straw, asbestos fibres, wood pulp or paper pulp may be added to the aggregate. The said plastic mass or aggregate is inserted between a pair of reinforcing webs or sheets of a fibrous material such as a light-weight felt, to, which it is inti= mately secured; This mastic body, interposed between the said fibrous -webs or surfacing sheets, has the humor 2. finished buildhig product or V roofing element; and it maybe either of tapered so or of uniform cross-section, and in theiorin of either a single or a multimnit Each of the webs or sheets, between which the plastic body is secured, preferably is impregnated with asuitable water=resistant composition such as a light or heavy asphalt and one orboth surfaces of the sheets may have a protective coating of mineral material such as'crushed slate or slag. The said webs extend only as far as the edge margins of the product,-leaving the side edges exposed.

The butt end margin of the roofing product or shingle-which, in instances where the shingle is tapered in thickness, constitutes the thickest portion of the shingle,is of increased stiffness. This is effected by folding upon itself for a substantial distance from the butt edge margin, the fibrous webs or sheets forming the respective upper and lower surfaces of the roofing product. Preferably a coating of water resistant adhesive material such as asphalt is placed between the contacting folded portions of each web for the purpose of further stiffening and strengthening this part of the shingle and for preventing delamination of these folded portions during subsequent use of the product.

In the practice of the present invention, the building products or shingles are made by a continuous process involving the preparation of a plastic mixture of the ingredients mentioned above, and the subsequent introduction of this plastic material between the adjacent inner surfaces of two prepared webs of the said fibrous material as the latter are brought together pre- I vious to passing between a pair of driven pressing and formingrolls. Each oi the webs of material prior to reaching the forming rolls has been im M pregnated with asphalt or its equivalent, and has had one, or more edge margins coated with asphalt or other suitable adhesive material and folded over upon the adjacent portion of the web for the purpose of producing a web having strengthened, w slightly thickened lateral margins.

The forming and pressing rolls serve to shape the product to the desired form-anyencess or mastic being wiped or scrapedfrom the marginal portions oi the latter, after the thus-formed prodnot has left the forming rolls, it is slit lengthwise M to form a plurality of continuous bands or come posite webs, which are cut transversely to form the desired tapered shingle units.

The apparatus employed in the manufacture of 0 the newbuilding product or shingle comprises means for separately conveyhig a plurality of webs of felt or the like and an interposed body of mastic material to'and through a pair of shaping and pressing rolls having reconfiguration adapted to give a building product of the desired shape upon passage of the materials therethrough. Theapparatus also includes means tor folding over the lateral marginal portions of each web, and for v sealing the said lateral margins to the adjacent 1m portions of the web under controlled pressure prior to movement of the web through the pressing and shaping rolls. Means also may be provided for warming the marginal portions of each web of felt prior to the application thereto of a layer or film of asphalt or other adhesive material. Means likewise are provided for conveying the formed product from the pressing and forming rolls to cutters where they are cut longitudinally and tra.1sversely to the desired shape, preferably in a single operation according to standard practice.

For a full understanding of the invention and the procedure by which the new product is made, reference may be had to the accompanying drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a somewhat diagrammatic view showing, in elevation, apparatus adapted to produce the new product;

Fig. 2 is a somewhat diagrammatic plan view of the apparatus of Fig. 1, parts being broken away;

Fig. 3 illustrates one form of construction of the pressing and forming rolls;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view through my novel building product, shown in the form of a tapered shingle; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a multi-unit shingle.

Referring now to the drawing, the new building product in the form of a shingle is illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5. As shown" in these figures, the shingle consists of a body 10 of a hardened plastic material or mastic of the character previously described, secured between two surface webs or sheets of light weight felt or similar material 11, which are preferably impregnated with asphalt or other suitable water-resistant composition of well known type. The outer face of each of the webs 11 may if desired have a protective surface coating of crushed slate, slag or the like such as are commonly used for surfacing this type of material.

The shingle in the form shown is generally rectangular in shape, and is of tapering thickness from one end to the other,the butt end, 12 thereof having the greatest thickness,-so that when the shingle is laid with others in the usual overlapping construction, the thick butt ends thereof give the impression of a roofing having a greater thickness than actually is the case.

The edge margins of the respective webs at the butt end of each shingle are folded upon themselves as shown at 14 to form lateral reinforcing strips for the said butt ends, thus exposing the mastic body along the butt end margins of the shingle, and permitting free expansion and contraction in the mastic lying between these strips while avoiding the possibility of injury to the latter under the effect of pressure applied to the shingles.

In the form shown in Fig. 5, the roofing product is provided along one margin with cut-out indentations 16; defining a plurality of sections or tabs 18, each of which has the appearance of a single element when successive elements are laid in overlapping arrangement in the usual manner of laying this type of roofing.

In the process of manufacturing the novel building product, an apparatus embodying the various apparatus elements shown in Figs. 1 to 3 may be employed. As shown in these figures, numeral 30 designates a preliminary mixer provided with the usual agitating means such as paddles (not shown) and in which the component parts of the mastic,--such as asphalt, fibre and the like,-are mixed. The asphalt may be in powdered form or molten. In the latter instance the fibres or mineral ingredients absorb a large portion of the asphalt, yielding a product in the form of a dry, somewhat granular mixture. Connected with the dry mixer by means of suitable conveying means v 32 is a high speed mixer and pulverizer 34, preferably of the typedescribed in my respective co-pending patent applications Ser. No. 414,691, filed December 1'7, 1929, and r'r. No. 441,043, filed April 2, 1930. This mixer 34 erves effectively, by a high speed beating and shearing action, to plasticize and homogenize the mixture flowing thereto from the preliminary mixer.

The outlet of the mixer 34 is so disposed as to discharge the mixed mastic into the bite of a pair of hollow forming and pressing rolls 36, 38, either or both of which may be mechanically driven from a suitable source of power, the two rolls operating at substantially the same peripheral velocity.

One or both of the rolls 36, 38 may, if desired, be cooled by meansof a suitable fluid medium circulating through it. The latter may be introduoed into each roll through a hollow a: "al portion 40 thereof, andmay be similarly witl drawn at the opposite end of the roll.

Pairs of roll-supporting standards 42, 42, are provided adjacent each of the respective rolls 36, 38, and each is adapted to have rotatably mounted thereon a roll 44 of felt or other fibrous material, impregnated with asphalt or other suitable wa terresistant material, and preferably provided vfith a surface coating of finely-divided slate or otl wear-resistant material of the usual type.

Each of the rolls 44 is in alignment with the pressing rolls 36, 38,the arrangement being such that a web of felt 45 from each roll 44 is fed continuously between the laterally bevelled surfaces of the respective pressing rolls 36, 38, while a selected amount of mastic is fed between the webs and is bonded therewith under preselected pressure. The resultant laminated web or sheet 47 is then conducted to cutting apparatus for cutting and shaping this continuous web to form a plurality of building products of the desired size and form.

The cutting apparatus comprises a pair of cylinders 46, 48 maintained in yielding. pressing engagement with each other by well known means, and adapted for adjustment toward and away from each other. The cylinder 46 has mounted thereon one or more longitudinally disposed straight knife edges 50, and one or more annular knife edges 52, the latter being designed to longitudinally slit the moving laminated continuous web of material. The cylinder 48 is provided with a smooth surface adapted to cooperate with the knives on the cylinder 46 for effecting the cutting operation under preselected pressure conditions.

The longitudinal knives 50 may extend the entire length of the cylinder 46, for cutting the moving webs across their entire width,-or certain of these knives may be shorter than the others for the purpose of cutting out the indented portions 16 shown in Fig. 5,where multi-unit shingles are desired.

An endless conveyor 60 adjustably supported on pulleys 62, 62 and driven from a suitable source tween the pressing rolls 36, 38, there are provided curved guide members or fingers 63, 63. A pair of cooperating pressing edge rolls 64, 64, located adjacent the guides 63, 63, serve to press the marginal turned-over portions of each web upon the adjacent parts thereof.

For introducing water-resistant sealing com position such as asphalt upon the side margins of each web 45 prior to movement of the latter into contact with the curved guide member 63, there is provided a reservoir 66 for the said composition, the same having nozzle-shaped, suitably" controlled outlets located immediately above the respective edge margins of each web 45 adjacent the guide member 63. A pair of internally-heated hollow rolls 68, 68 are disposed between the respective rolls 4i and the corresponding reservoir 66, and are adapted to heat the marginal portions of each web immediately prior to its movement beneath the outlets of the reservoir 66, for facilitating penetration of the material of the web by the composition flowing from the reservoir.

As shown in Fig. 3, each of the forming and pressing rolls 36, 38 has its outer surface bevelled from a mid portion thereof to the outer margins, the two rolls being supported in well-known manner for adjustment toward and away from each other under yielding pressure, the construction being such that as the two webs 45 of felt pass between these rolls, the mastic fed to and deposited upon the webs from the mixer 34 is forced into the bite of the rolls and is pressed into the fibers of the respective webs to effect an intimate bond with the latter. Any excess mastic is forced laterally outward past the butt end of the laminated web 47 thus formed during passage between the rolls, and is continuously wiped oil. and removed by means of mechanical fingers or the like 70, which are operatively asociated with the said rolls. This mastic may be returned to the bite of the rolls or to the mixer in any suitable manner.

Idler rolls such as the roll 72 may be employed where necessary to take up any objectionable slack in the moving webs 45 and to insure uniform movement of each web to and through the forming and pressing rolls.

In the practice of the present invention in connection with the method and apparatus described, there is a continuous succession of operations including the coating of the side margins of a pair of impregnated webs with a sealing composition, followed by the folding over of the thustreated side margins of each web. The webs having these reinforced marginal portions are continuously advanced to and through a pair of shaping and pressing rolls, while being provided with a mastic filling in a manner to form a continuous laminated structure or composite web 47 comprising a body of hardened mastic, preferably of wedge-shaped cross section, as shown and described. This web 47, having the shape indicated, then passes to the cutting device where it is longitudinally and laterally cut to form I a plurality of building products or shingles of the shape desired. v

It is obvious that the pressing and forming rolls 36, 38 may have other shapes than that shown, and that the completed building products or shingles therefore need not be wedge-shaped in cross section but may assume many other shapes as well.

An important feature of the invention resides in the production of a shingle having a hardened mastic body interposed between opposite webs or sheets of fibrous material, and having marginal 3 portions, each of which is folded back on itself to effect the reinforcement of the shingle along one marginal edge,'-the said product having a cushion of mastic between the adjacent turnedback portions of the respective webs.

. The thick butt edge of a tapered shingle is the edge which is exposed to the weather when the shingle is on the roof. The present invention therefore reinforces this edge against deformation of temperature and handling of the shingles. With the reinforcing marginal portions embedded in the asphaltic body the body is free to expand and contract without breaking or destroying the fibrous sheet material on the faces of the shingle. Furthermore the marginal portions have asphaltic bodies on both sides thereof and this construction acts to eflectively hold the asphalt in the butt edge of the shingle so that it will not run or become deformed by the usual heating operation of the sun. At the same time the marginal portions of the fibrous sheet act to effectively reinforce and support the butt edge of the shingle and permit the building up of a shingle with a comparatively thick butt edge.

The excess mastic which exudes laterally from between the respective webs during the step of formation of the composite structure at the rolls 36, 38, is readily removed by the scrapers or fingers 70, thus leaving the finished product with a slightly roughened butt edge which gives a desirable efiect.

The folded fabric at the butt end of the shingles not only serves as a reinforcement for the shingle but also serves to prevent delamination of the latter at this point during use. Any tendency toward separation of the edges of the webs from the mastic at or after passing the pressing rolls is substantially eliminated; and the 'building product thus produced has a square and thicker-looking butt end, very attractive in appearance when in place during use. 7

With this type of construction of shingles, there is no injurious stress put upon the web of fibrous material at the butt end margin of the shingle under the effect of pressure upon the shingle subsequently applied during use. Furthermore, a laminated shingle or product of this type of construction costs materially less to manufacture than a building product having a fibrous web or webs wrapped completely or partially around the butt end. Waste in shingle production accord-' ing to the present invention is extremely low compared to the usual processes for making composite shingles.

What I claim as new is:

1. A tapered shingle comprising a body of asphaltic material which is hard under normal atmospheric temperatures but which will soften and tend to become deformed under continued heating of the sun, said asphaltic body tapering from one edge thereof to the other and fibrous sheets covering the opposite faces of the shingle and secured .thereto, each of the sheets having a marginal portion folded back upon itself adjacent the thick butt edge of the shingle, said marginal portions being embedded in the asphaltic body and arranged to prevent deformation of the shingle when the body is softened.

2. A tapered shingle comprising a body of assheets covering the opposite faces of the shingle i and secured thereto, each of said sheets having a marginal portion folded back on itself adjacent the thick butt edge of the shingle, said marginal portion being embedded in the asphalt body with asphalt integral with the asphaltic body positioned between the marginal portions of the fibrous sheet such construction being adapted to prevent deformation of the butt end of the shingle when the body is softened.

3. A tapered shingle comprising a body of asphaltic material which is hard at normal atmospheric temperatures but which will soften and tend to become deformed under continued 

